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Physical Education Curriculum Reform in Finland

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Physical Education Curriculum Reform in Finland

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SAMI R. YLI-PIIPARI

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Abstract The Finnish education system has received worldwide attention due to the top academic

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performance of Finnish school students. Physical education, as an integral part of the Finnish

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education curriculum, potentially contributes to the overall success. The purpose of this article is

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to summarize Finnish physical education reform during the past decades and review and critique

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recent literature that has examined the effectiveness of Finnish physical education programs.

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This review concludes that physical education has a solid foundation in Finnish schools and it

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enjoys strong support in Finnish society. Although physical education contact time has

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diminished across four decades, the current basic education reform has begun to allocate more

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time and funding for elementary and middle school physical education. The literature review,

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however, revealed limited evidence on the effectiveness of physical education programs. In the

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future, robust studies are needed to provide evidence of the effectiveness of physical education.

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It is likely, that with rigorous research evidence, the current efforts to allocate more time for

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physical education should be more easily justified and supported.

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Keywords Curriculum reform, review study, elementary and middle schools

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Health and Sport Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, 38152 Tennessee. Address correspondence to Sami Yli-Piipari, Doctor of Sport Pedagogy, Health and Sport Sciences, University of Memphis, 210 Fieldhouse, Memphis, TN 38152. E-mail: [email protected]

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1 Human Kinetics, 1607 N Market St, Champaign, IL 61825

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Introduction

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Recently, the Finnish educational system has been attracting positive attention and global

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interest. This is largely due to the fact that in the Programme of International Student Assessment

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(PISA), a worldwide study of the scholastic performance of 15-year-old students in reading,

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science, and mathematics of the last decade, the Finnish educational system has topped the

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charts, while the U.S. educational system has been middling, at best. Finnish students’

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performances have ranked at or near the top in all three competencies in every PISA survey since

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2000, neck-and-neck with super-achieving students from South Korea, Singapore, and more

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recently, Shanghai, China. (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD],

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2010a; 2010b). Finland's success is especially intriguing because compared to the stereotype of

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the East Asian model of long hours of cramming and rote memorization, Finnish schools have

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shorter school days, assign less homework and more recess, and engage children in more creative

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play (Sahlberg, 2011).

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Physical education (PE) has been an institution in Finnish schools since the mid-19th century and has been a mandated subject content across Finnish basic education. In general, PE

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is a phase of education that aims to contribute to an individual’s development of physical,

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cognitive, and psychosocial competencies. A quality PE program provides children and

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adolescents with weekly physical activity (PA), knowledge base, skills, and motivation to

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participate in a variety of PAs as an ongoing part of a healthy lifestyle. As a mandated content

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area (Basic Education Act 628, 1998), PE is the only structured opportunity to ensure that all

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children can engage in moderate-to-vigorous PA. As an integral part of the Finnish basic

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education system, it is believed that PE has contributed to the successful education of young

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people (Huisman, 2004). This article examines the hypothesis that school PE enhances students’

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cognitive, social, and psychomotor development and, therefore, provides important benefits.

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Thus, the aim of this article is twofold: (a) to summarize school-based PE curriculum reform

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during the past four decades in Finland and (b) to review recent literature to determine the

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effectiveness of the current Finnish PE programs. A Short History of Educational Reform in Finland

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Finland, a member of the European Union, has been going through a fundamental

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educational transformation during the past four decades, converting from a poor agrarian society

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with limited education to one of the most highly educated countries in the world (Routti & Ylä-

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Anttila, 2006). Finland is a rather young nation as it established its independence from the Soviet

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Union in 1917 (OECD, 2010b). During World War II, the sovereignty of the nation was

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threatened and Finland fought hard to preserve its independence (OECD, 2010b). The postwar

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education system was unequal and more reflective of the needs of a rural, agricultural society

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than of an industrial society. Only about a quarter of young Finns in 1950 had access to the

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grammar school path, and two-thirds of the grammar schools were privately governed. Most

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young Finns left school after six years of basic education, with only those living in towns or

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larger municipalities having access to a middle school education (OECD, 2010b). During the

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postwar era, urbanization together with a need for quality education initiated the movement that

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slowly led to new basic education legislation in 1968. The transition from a scattered school

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organization to the single top-down comprehensive school system was challenging and,

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consequently, the transition slow and careful (OECD, 2010b). The implementation of the Basic

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School Curriculum Framework began in 1972 in northern Finland and in five years it moved

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gradually to the more populated municipalities in the south. The implementation of the new

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education system was not easy and it was accompanied with a very substantial debate about core

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values and beliefs (OECD, 2010b). All along, the educational policy objective has been focused

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on equity; today it is supported by a homogeneous cultural and social agreement (Finnish

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society, in general, supports the educational policies and the current schooling system). All

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schools are assigned to a municipal education system similar to school districts in the U.S. in an

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effort to form an efficient delivery system of quality education. For instance, local municipalities

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cover all students’ costs for their basic education, including books, supplies, meals, and even

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medical and dental checkups (Sahlberg, 2011).

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The responsible institution behind the national core curriculum is the National Board of Education of Finland, which is a part of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The

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National Board of Education of Finland coordinates the continuous curriculum revision process

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moderated by different stakeholders, such as scholars, teachers, and administrators (Brown

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Ruzzi, 2005). The Finnish basic curriculum has been revised regularly with the revision process

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being active and continuous (OECD, 2010b). A curriculum revision in 1970 aimed to provide

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equal opportunity to all Finnish children (OECD, 2010b). The second revision in 1985

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highlighted teachers’ professionalism and local municipalities’ autonomy to implement a

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curriculum that reinforces the strengths of the schools (OECD, 2010). In addition, the 1985

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curriculum revision engaged local teachers in the curriculum planning process. The Framework

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of Curriculum in 1994 provided guidelines for curriculum development, stating that the mission

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of each school was to be local and school-based. Evaluation guidelines were reformed in 1999,

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and nationwide objectives of basic education and lesson time allocations were mandated in 2001

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(e.g., mandating physical and health education to be two separate subjects) (OECD, 2010b). The

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current content and lesson time allocations are from the latest curriculum revision that was

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completed in 2004 (OECD, 2010b).

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Due to the recent success in PISA, the Finnish education system has received worldwide

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attention. This interest has generated research efforts that attempt to identify and summarize the

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educational policy factors that may have led to flattering results in an international achievementbased testing. Sahlberg (2011) has highlighted the following five central factors from the

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findings that contributed to the academic achievements of Finnish school students: (a) a six-year

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quality elementary school experience as a cornerstone for education; (b) requirement for a

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masters’ degree qualification for all basic school teachers (including PE teachers); (c) well-

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equipped public schools with small class sizes (elementary schools traditionally have fewer than

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300 pupils per school and average elementary classes sizes are 19 students [OECD, 2012] - ); (d)

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small, tight-knit professional communities with teachers’ willingness to engage in professional

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development; and (e) almost all children are enrolled in identical public schools regardless of

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their families’ economic status (less than 4% of Finnish students are enrolled in mostly religion-

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based, private comprehensive schools).

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The Finnish educational system is in many respects similar to systems in most other European countries and in the U.S. In Finland, children start their compulsory comprehensive

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school in the year they reach seven years of age (on average, one year later than children in most

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of the states in the U.S) (Basic Education Act 628, 1998). A comprehensive school divides into a

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lower level (elementary school grades 1–6) and an upper level (middle school grades 7–9). Up to

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the age of 15 years (grade 9), all Finnish adolescents receive similar basic education (Basic

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Education Act 628, 1998). In Finnish elementary schools, children study different school

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subjects with their homeroom teacher, whereas in middle school subject-specific classes with

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specialist teachers are widely used. After completing nine years in compulsory basic education,

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students can continue their education in either a high school or vocational school, both of which

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are noncompulsory, tuition-free institutions. High school, with its intensive college preparatory

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courses, is the most direct route to university. In contract vocational school, with its lower or

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higher diploma, prepares students to enter directly into working life. Lower level vocational

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studies take 2–5 years, high schools studies 3–4 years, and higher level vocational studies 3–5

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years (OECD, 2010b). A Short History of Physical Education in Finland

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Throughout these changes, PE has been, and continues to be a compulsory part of the

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national school curriculum in Finland. Developments at the core national curriculum reflect the

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changes in the PE curriculum as well. School PE is available for essentially all Finnish

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elementary and middle school students, with more than 99% of students successfully completing

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compulsory basic education (Official Statistics of Finland, 2012). In addition, it is noted that

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every student enrolled in Finnish high schools is participating in weekly PE, whereas in the U.S.

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only 52% of high school students attend weekly PE (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

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2011).

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In Finnish comprehensive education, PE, art, music, and crafts together form a cross-

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curricular theme that aims to educate a holistic individual, to prepare students to learn, and to

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provide necessary enrichment and PA for individual growth. Finland has experienced a similar

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transformation in school-based PE as other Western countries (Bailey et al., 2009). In 1843,

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during the time when Finland was an autonomous grand duchy of Russia, for the first time,

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school PE was included as a part of school curriculum (Heikinaro-Johansson & Telama, 2005).

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School PE had an objective to prevent the looming decay of the physical fitness of the nations’

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youth (Ilmanen, 1982). Soon after declaring independence from Russia in 1917, sovereign

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Finland added a military objective to the school PE curriculum. This period of time lasted almost

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three decades, until slowly vanishing after World War II (Meinander, 1992). The post-war

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transformation from an agrarian society to an urban society further improved the role of school

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PE toward the enhancement of fitness and health, along with the prevention of sedentary habits

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(Heikinaro-Johansson & Telama, 2005). Following a national revision processes from the 1970s

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to the 21st century delineated PE objectives to support the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that

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facilitate a physically active lifestyle, working ability, health, and cooperation (Finnish National

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Board of Education, 1985). In addition, revisions were made in 1994 to support the enjoyment

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and positive experiences of PE, enhancement of self-esteem, and healthy lifestyles (Finnish

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National Board of Education, 1994). To reinforce general health-related objectives, health

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education was integrated with PE in the 1994 basic curriculum revision process. Currently, based

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on the last curriculum revision in 2004, school PE has become content that is expected, through a

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balanced and coherent range of physical activities, to contribute to the optimal development of

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an individual’s potential including growth and development in physical and psychosocial

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competencies (Finnish National Board of Education, 2004).

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Aims and Objectives

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The Current State of Physical Education in Finland

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Finnish PE has a general, lifelong educational objective to promote students’ physical,

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psychological, social, and ethical growth and well-being, and to guide them toward lifelong PA

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(Finnish National Board of Education, 2004, 2007). Specifically, school PE aims to enhance

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students’ competency in motor skills and movement patterns, promote a physically active life-

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style and physical fitness, promote responsible personal and social behavior, promote appropriate

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values, and promote enjoyment of, and self-expression in, PA. At the basic education level

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(grades 1–9), the main emphasis is on learning a wide variety of motor skills. In high school


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(grades 10–12), the curriculum emphasizes adopting a healthy and physically active lifestyle and

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acquiring an understanding of how PA positively affects students’ physical, psychological, and

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social well-being (Finnish National Board of Education, 2003). In vocational schools, the main

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goal of PE is for students to promote their own healthy and active lifestyles by planning and

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implementing their own personal PA programs (Finnish National Board of Education, 2001). It is noticeable that the Finnish national curriculum leaves content decisions on activity

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selections and delivery to individual teachers and schools. In general, Finnish schools have not

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followed the global accountability movement, such as test-based accountability, that assumes

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that making schools and teachers more accountable for their performances is the key to

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improving student learning (Sahlberg, 2011). As a consequence of decentralized education

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management and increased school autonomy, local education authorities and political leaders are

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held accountable for their policy decisions (Sahlberg, 2011). This has promoted a reciprocal

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accountability system where schools are increasingly accountable for learning outcomes and

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education authorities are expected to support schools to achieve expected outcomes. In Finland,

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the general perception is that flexible accountability has had a major positive impact on teaching

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and, hence, on student learning. Assessment of student learning is based on teacher-made tests,

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rather than external standardized tests. This is evident also in PE. It is not unusual for PE

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teachers to view, for instance, fitness-tests as opportunities for learning rather than assessing

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student achievement.

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Single-Gender Middle School Physical Education

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In Finland, schools have the option to organize PE in either coeducation or single-gender

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groups. In elementary school, grades 1–4, girls and boys typically participate in coeducational

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PE, whereas in grades 5–9, single-gender classes are the norm. In addition, single-gender classes


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are normally organized so that male teachers teach boys and female teachers teach girls (Berg &

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Lahelma, 2010). Although the national curriculum states the same PE objectives for girls and

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boys, 5th–9th grade curricula note that “PE instruction must make allowances for the differing

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needs of boys and girls at this stage of development, as well as the pupils’ differentials in growth

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and development generally” (Finnish National Board of Education, 2004, p. 18).

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Content

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The Finnish national core curriculum in PE is rather short on content. It comprises

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running and throwing activities in different forms; gymnastics with and without equipment and

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apparatuses; music, expression, and dance; ball games; orienteering; winter sports; and

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swimming and lifesaving skills. In addition, the curriculum includes some content that supports

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operational capacity and muscle fitness (Finnish National Board of Education, 2004). The

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Finnish PE curriculum has been found to be similar to that in other Western countries; however,

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the main variation concerns the inclusion of activities representative of Nordic culture, such as

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skiing, skating, orienteering, swimming, and outdoor education (Annerstedt, 2008).

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Compulsory PE is typically organized around multi-activity programs in a series of units

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(Heikinaro-Johansson & Telama, 2005). This practice follows rather well the objectives of the

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core curriculum. Results from Palomäki and Heikinaro-Johansson (2011) revealed the

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dominance of popular ball games, such as floor ball, Finnish baseball, basketball, and soccer.

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Previous studies documented statistically significant gender variation in the content of PE

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programs (Huisman, 2004; Palomäki & Heikinaro-Johansson, 2011). Girls are typically taught

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more aerobics, gymnastics, fitness training (circuit training), dance, and music activities (e.g.

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skating, track and field, orienteering, and relaxing techniques) than boys. In addition, boys’

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program include more soccer, floor ball, tennis/racket ball/table tennis, ultimate frisbee, hand

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ball, skiing, and ice-related games, such as ice hockey, than girls.

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Time Allocation

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Time allocation for PE has fallen markedly in Finland in recent years (HeikinaroJohansson & Telama, 2005). Presently, comprehensive school students have two 45-minute

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classes of obligatory PE weekly. Elementary school programs may add a third PE lesson to their

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curriculum. At the middle school level, an individual student has a possibility to add more PE

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units (a unit is 38 hours) from a set of elective units that are developed according to local school

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curriculum (Basic Education Act 628, 1998). Throughout middle school, boys and girls complete

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PE classes in gender-separate groups. Furthermore, high school education includes two

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compulsory PE units that involve a total of 76 hours of student participation. Students may also

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decide to complete a maximum of three additional elective units within their three academic

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years of upper secondary school. In vocational school, students have one compulsory unit (i.e.,

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27 hours of participation—3 weekly hours across 9 weeks) and can complete a maximum of four

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elective units in PE over a three-year period (Finnish National Board of Education, 2001).

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Assessment and Evaluation

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Student assessment in comprehensive schools is intended to promote student learning,

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allow teachers to evaluate how well students have met the objectives for growth and learning,

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and help students to form a realistic image of their learning and development in the future

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(Finnish National Board of Education, 2004). Teachers are given a wide range of responsibility

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for student learning and assessment, as well as flexibility in exercising that responsibility. In

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comprehensive schools, each student’s progress is reported at the end of a school year. The

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report covers the student’s conduct, schoolwork, knowledge and skills in different subject areas.


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In the first seven years, the assessment report can be either a written description of the student’s

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progress or a numerical grade (Finnish National Board of Education, 2007). After grade seven,

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the report must include a grade that is accompanied by written comments. To increase equity

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across schools, the Finnish National Board of Education (2004) has mandated competence

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standards for every content area. It is expected that students should be able to master the content

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and score an 8 (an appropriate competence level) on the assessments at the end of the school

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year. The assessments in PE focus on various sport skills, motivation, social skills, and

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knowledge and behavior of fair play. In addition, a student should understand the relationships

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between PA and health (Finnish National Board of Education, 2004). Previously it has been

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reported that the average PE grade received (9th grade) in 2003 was 8.2 for boys and 8.3 for girls

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and in 2011, 8.3 for both girls and boys. In 2003, 83% of girls and 78% of boys achieved the PE

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objectives in excellent, very good, or good standings. In 2010, the percentages were 82% for girls

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and 81% for boys (Huisman, 2004; Palomäki & Heikinaro-Johansson, 2011).

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Schools and local authorities are required by legislation to be reviewed by external evaluators to review the quality of education provided to children. In addition to the local

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evaluation, a national-level evaluation is also in place, set by the Educational Evaluation Council

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(Basic Education Act 628, 1998). The council’s role is to evaluate the national education system

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by gathering and analyzing information useful in supporting students’ learning and teachers’

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work, but is not focused on rating the performance of different schools (OECD, 2010b; Simola,

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Rinne, Varjo, Pitkänen, & Kauko, 2009). The council advocates transparency and accountability

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in its activities and publishes its findings on evaluations without schools being identified or

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ranked in the reports. It would be up to individual schools and education providers to decide how

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to publicize their respective evaluation results (for a comprehensive description of the Finnish

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evaluation policies, see Simola et al., 2009).

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Review of Evidence on Effectiveness of Finnish Physical Education Programs

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When trying to understand any educational system, one needs to recognize the objectives of educational policy first, and then analyze scientific evidence on whether these objectives are

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being met. What follows is an attempt to analyze and evaluate available research evidence in

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relation to meeting the cognitive, social, and psychomotor objectives of the Finnish school PE

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curriculum. Specifically, features of Finnish PE students’ dispositions, such as attitudes and

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motivation toward PE and social-emotional skills in PE, were evaluated. In addition, the research

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findings in students’ total daily PA, fitness levels, and motor skills were also reviewed (Note 1).

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Student Attitudes and Motivation

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Research has shown adolescents’ attitudes toward school PE to be positive in Finnish comprehensive schools (Heikinaro-Johansson, Varstala, & Lyyra, 2008; Huisman, 2004;

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Nupponen, & Telama, 1998; Palomäki & Heikinaro-Johansson, 2011; Varstala, Telama, &

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Heikinaro-Johansson, 1987). Varstala et al. (1987) reported that 88% of Finnish students liked

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PE. In addition, it was found that elementary school students liked PE more than middle school

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students (Nupponen, & Telama, 1998). More recent evidence is available from the Finnish

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National Board of Education, in its reports of PE learning performance evaluation studies in

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2003 and 2010. The studies were conducted with nationally representative samples (111 schools

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and 5,446 adolescents [Huisman, 2004]; 51 schools and 1,616 adolescents [Palomäki &

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Heikinaro-Johansson, 2011]) and evaluated the attitudes of 15-year-old Finnish adolescents

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when students were in their final year in a comprehensive school. The studies reported that in

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2003, 44% of girls and 27% of boys had a very good or good attitude toward PE, while in 2010,

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45% of girls and 25% of boys had positive attitudes toward PE (Huisman, 2004; Palomäki &

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Heikinaro-Johansson, 2011). But in 2003, 47% of the girls and 56% of the boys did not have a

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positive or negative attitude toward PE, whereas in 2010 50% of the girls and 59% of boys have

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a neutral opinion about school PE. Finally, in 2003, a small percentage of girls (7%) and boys

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(17%) had a negative or very negative attitude toward PE; in 2010, the percentage rates were 8%

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for girls and 16% for boys. Interestingly, 47% of girls and 59% of boys (2003) and 49% of girls

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and 69% of boys (2010) indicated that they would like to have at least one more obligatory PE

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class each week (Huisman, 2004; Palomäki & Heikinaro-Johansson, 2011).

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Several studies have examined motivation-related variables in Finnish school PE

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(Hagger, Chatzisarantis, Culverhouse, & Biddle, 2003; Jaakkola, 2002; Soini, 2006; Yli-Piipari,

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Jaakkola, & Liukkonen, 2010; Yli-Piipari, Leskinen, Jaakkola, & Liukkonen, 2012). Soini

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(2006) showed that Finnish 9th grade students (n = 4,397) enjoyed PE, with enjoyment for boys

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in PE being statistically higher than girls. More recently, a longitudinal study by Yli-Piipari,

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Barkoukis, Jaakkola, and Liukkonen (2013) showed that PE enjoyment for adolescents (n = 812)

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declined across middle school years (7th grade = 3.76; 8th = grade 3.66; 9th = grade 3.52; scale

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range from 1 to 5. In addition, based on the same longitudinal data, adolescents who had high

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values toward school PE were able to hold these values steady during the middle school years

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(scale ranging from 1 to 5; 7th grade = 4.23; 8th = grade 4.13; 9th = grade 4.14; (Yli-Piipari et

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al., 2010). However, no cross-cultural data are available to compare Finnish adolescents’ PE

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enjoyment and values with the dispositions of students from the other cultures.

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Evolving from the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), a study examined high

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school students’ (n = 909) perception of PE teacher’s autonomy-support and perception of their

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own autonomy in PE across four nations, namely Great Britain, Estonia, Finland, and Hungary


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(Hagger et al., 2009). The study showed that Finnish students reported higher perceptions of both

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teacher autonomy-support and their own autonomy than did students in other three countries. In

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addition, Soini (2006) showed boys in 9th grade perceive their autonomy in PE to be higher than

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girls.

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Social-Emotional Learning

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Facilitating social growth and development of an individual is an important objective of Finnish PE. In Finnish PE teacher education, skills that nurture students’ positive socio-

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emotional growth are highly regarded as tools for effective teaching and self-reflection. Only one

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study has examined the implementation of a socio-emotional skill program in teaching middle

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school students (Kuusela, 2005). In her study, Kuusela (2005) designed and tested a PE unit to

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increase 8th grade girls’ social and emotional skills across 50 contact lessons integrated in

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regular PE lessons. The teacher used active listening, ‟I” messages, and ecosystemic methods to

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interact with the students and the problem situations (Gordon, 1974). Results showed the unit to

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be effective in practice and applicable as part of a PE program as students felt motivated to

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practice the skills and regarded them as useful and practical. In addition, a majority of the

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students enjoyed the course and felt that their social and emotional skills had improved during

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the unit.

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Physical Activity of School-Aged Youth

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Finland has a long history in examining children’s and adolescents’ PA. However, no

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studies examining in-class PA during PE classes, utilizing the aforementioned search strategy

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(see Note 1), have been published. Although numerous cross-sectional population and

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longitudinal studies have provided this evidence using self-report methods, to date there are no

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population studies utilizing objective measures, such as accelerometers or pedometers (Ministry


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of Education and Culture, 2010). Nevertheless, self-report studies have shown Finnish students

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to be more active than those in other Western nations. Since 1982, the World Health

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Organization has been collecting collaborative cross-national data on health behaviors of 11-to-

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15-year-old children and adolescents. The Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC)

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study comprising 41 nations across Europe and North America reported that Finnish 11 year olds

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are more physically active than the U.S. 11 year olds, but PA engagement have been shown to be

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opposite in 15 year olds (Currie et al., 2008). Boys have been found to be more physically active

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than girls in both Finland and the U.S. Furthermore, research has reported that only 23% of 15-

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to-16-year-old Finnish boys and 10% of 15-to-16-year-old Finnish girls met the national

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guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA per day (Tammelin, Ekelund, Remes, &

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Näyhä, 2007). Results from the HBSC study are presented in Table 1.

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Table 1 goes here

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Although numerous studies have documented that PA participation declines during adolescence (for a review, see Dumith, Gigante, Domingues, & Kohl, 2011), studies in Finland

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have shown conflicting results (Huisman, 2004; Laakso, Telama, Nupponen, Rimpelä, & Pere,

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2008; Nupponen, Laakso, Rimpelä, Pere, & Telama, 2010; Palomäki & Heikinaro-Johansson,

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2011; Yli-Piipari et al., 2012). As a part of a nation-level longitudinal research program, the

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Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (Telama, Yang, Laakso, & Viikari, 1997) examined

343

9-, 12-, 15-, and 18-year-old children and adolescents in 1980 (n = 2,309). Follow-up data were

344

collected in 1983, 1986, and 1989. Thus, the data documented activity patterns of the participants

345

from 9 to 27 years of age. PA was measured by means of a short questionnaire that included

346

items on the frequency and intensity of leisure-time PA, participation in sport club training,

347

participation in sport competitions, and the respondents’ habitual ways of spending their leisure-

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time. A sum index of PA was computed with these five variables (Telama et al., 1997). The

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results showed a remarkable decline after the age of 12 in the frequency of PA and sport

350

participation, in particular. More recently, studies examining self-report PA have showed Finnish 15-year-old

352

adolescents to be more active in 2010 compared to 2003 (Huisman 2004; Palomäki & Heikinaro-

353

Johansson, 2011). The studies reported a 6% and a 10% increase in girls’ participation (very

354

physically active four or more times per week) in organized and non-organized sports,

355

respectively. For boys, there was only 10% increase in the non-organized sport activity.

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The findings of the comprehensive Finnish Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey

356

utilizing the nationwide sample showed that 12-to-18-year-old adolescents’ participation rates in

358

MVPA increased during the study period from 1979 to 2005 (Nupponen et al., 2010). The

359

increase was not continuous, but showed an upward trend during the years 2001–2005. Drawn

360

from the same data set, Laakso et al. (2008) reported that out-of-school PA for Finnish youth

361

increased from 1991 to 2007. Adolescents who participated in unorganized PA at least once a

362

week for boys 43% in 1991 and 48% in 2007 among boys, and 29% in 1991 and 42% in 2007

363

among girls.

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In a recent study, Yli-Piipari et al. (2012) followed 12 year olds (n = 812) for 3 years

364 365

during their transition from elementary to middle school in Finland. PA was assessed by using

366

the HBSC PA scale measuring weekly frequency of 60 minutes of daily MVPA engagement.

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The study supported the findings of the of the HBSC study showing that MVPA participation is

368

inversely related to age. In addition, the study extended previous findings showing that MVPA

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declined across grades 6–9 with the steepest decline occurring during the transition from grade 6

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to 7.


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Fitness of School-Aged Youth Several studies have been reported examining fitness levels of Finnish children and adolescents (Huotari, Nupponen, Laakso, & Kujala, 2010a, 2010b; Laakso, Nupposen, &

374

Telaman, 1997; Nupponen, 1979; Nupponen, 1981). Some earlier studies have shown physical

375

fitness of Finnish youth to be at an acceptable level (Laakso et al., 1997). More recently, Huotari

376

et al. (2010a, 2010b), utilizing the earlier work of Nupponen (1979, 1981), investigated two

377

stratified samples across 1976 and 2001, and reported interesting findings on secular trends of

378

Finnish youth. The 1976 sample comprised 2,796 adolescents (9–21 years old) and the sample

379

from 2001 comprised 1,041 adolescents (11–18 years old). The same set of fitness tests were

380

conducted in both studies (25 years apart), which consisted of a standing long jump (cm), 30

381

second sit-ups, and a 4-x-10-meter agility shuttle run. In addition, aerobic fitness performance

382

was measured in running tests, 2,000-meter for boys and 1,500-meter for girls, and upper body

383

muscular fitness in was tested using the flexed arm hang for girls and pull-ups for boys. The

384

study showed that both boys and girls had lower aerobic fitness performance in 2001 than their

385

counterparts in the 1976 sample. The increase in long-distance running time from 1976 to 2001

386

was 10% for boys and 6% for girls. In addition, the study showed that 13-to-16-year-old

387

adolescents had slightly higher muscular fitness performance in 2001 compared to 1976. The

388

results showed a positive trend in the agility shuttle run and sit-up tests in both boys and girls. In

389

contrast, among boys, upper body strength was lower, while in the standing broad jump there

390

was no change in performance over time for boys, and only a slight positive trend for girls.

391

Motor Skills of School-Aged Youth

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Nupponen, Soini, and Telma (1999) created the Finnish Fitness Test Package, which is

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based on the Eurofit (1988) battery, and is administered once or twice a year in elementary and


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middle school PE. In addition, Nupponen et al. created a norm-based assessment criterion for

395

Finnish school-aged youth to test aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility, and motor skills. Also

396

included is the coordination test of Haag and Haag (2001). Utilizing the Finnish Fitness Test

397

Packages, the 2003 and 2010 PE learning performance evaluations examined the change in

398

adolescents’ aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility, and motor skills (Huisman, 2004; Palomäki

399

& Heikinaro-Johansson, 2011). The results showed a significant statistical decrease in

400

coordination track and slight improvements in the results of a dribbling skill test for girls.

401

Palomäki and Heikinaro-Johansson (2011) summarized the findings, stating that the most

402

worrying sign was that decreases in motor skill performance continued over time. In 2007, a one-year intervention project was implemented to study relationships between

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middle-school students’ fundamental movement skills, self-report PA, and motivation toward PE

405

(Kalaja, 2012). The study comprised 446 Finnish grade 7 students. The intervention design was

406

quasi-experimental, including experimental (n = 199 students) and control (n = 247 students)

407

groups, assessed across four measurement points (baseline through retention). The intervention

408

aimed to increase adolescents’ fundamental motor skills by implementing a 25-minute training

409

session in the beginning of the weekly PE lesson (one to two times per week). The program,

410

designed by the researcher and the PE teachers, focused on developing one dimension of

411

fundamental motor skills at a time. Fundamental movement skills were measured by a test

412

package consisting of static and dynamic balance, leaping, shuttle running, rope-jumping,

413

accuracy throwing and dribbling. After the intervention, there were statistically significant

414

differences between the experimental and control groups in static and dynamic balance. The

415

experimental group showed more statistically significant development across four measurement

416

points in these variables compared to the control group on the balancing skills but nonsignificant

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differences for locomotor and manipulative skills. Interestingly, during the intervention, the

418

experimental group’s decrease in self-report PA was more moderate than the decrease of control

419

group (time and experimental condition interaction.

420

Evidence Summary The reviewed findings indicate that the evidence of the effectiveness of Finnish PE

422

programs on students’ cognitive, social, and psychomotor development is scarce. Whereas

423

numerous research efforts have been conducted and reported on PA, motor skills, and fitness,

424

studies specifically examining the role of school or PE in children’s and adolescents’

425

physiological outcomes have been sparse. In addition, there are no studies examining the explicit

426

relationships between school PE and student social-cognitive outcomes.

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It can, however, be stated that school PE is well regarded among Finnish elementary and

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middle school students. This evidence has been established across several studies and across a

429

long period of time (Heikinaro-Johansson et al., 2008; Huisman, 2004; Palomäki & Heikinaro-

430

Johansson, 2011; Varstala et al., 1987). In addition, some evidence (generated by only one study)

431

indicated that compared to some other European PE programs Finnish adolescents tend to

432

perceive their PE classes as more autonomy-supportive (Hagger et al., 2009). Similarly, the

433

reviewed evidence on the impact of Finnish PE on adolescents’ psychomotor development is

434

scant. In fact, there are no studies that directly examine the effects of school PE, such as different

435

curricula, instructional models, teaching styles in school students’ PA, fitness, or motor skills.

436

The lack of evidence, together with so many other factors (not related to school PE programs)

437

that influence individuals’ PA and fitness levels, makes it impossible to determine whether

438

school PE contributes to a nation’s health. It is interesting that most of the reviewed studies

439

showed that adolescents’ PA in Finland declined at a faster rate than in other Western countries

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(HBSC study; Currie et al., 2008). However, there are no research findings to evaluate whether

441

increased PE time has or could have tempered the naturally declining PA levels. Similarly,

442

although the reviewed evidence indicates that Finnish adolescents’ aerobic fitness has declined

443

and muscular fitness has slightly increased from 1991 to 2001, the role of school PE in this

444

development is yet to be determined. In addition, it is naïve to expect that two to three weekly PE

445

lessons could contribute significantly to students’ PA or fitness. However, skills, knowledge, and

446

attitudes learned in PE could potentially act as a springboard for adolescents’ involvement in

447

sport and physical activities throughout life. The central finding of this review is that there is a

448

great need to determine the best possible PE to facilitate students’ growth. The final section of

449

this article provides specific suggestions for future research endeavors in PE not only pertaining

450

to Finland, but to the U.S. as well.

Twenty-First Century Physical Education Toward 2020: Physical Education Curriculum in Finland

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In 2009, an expert group was formed to develop Finnish basic education and to strengthen its objectives in a consistent way by taking into consideration the present strengths of

455

basic education and the development needs for the future (Ministry of Education and Culture,

456

2010). This group, Basic Education 2020, formulated a proposal for the distribution of lesson

457

hours and the general national objectives for the new basic education reform, completed by 2016

458

(Ministry of Education and Culture, 2010). The proposal emphasizes vital citizen skills for the

459

21st century that have been classified into five groups: thinking skills, ways of working and

460

interaction, crafts and expressive skills, participation and initiative, and self-awareness and

461

personal responsibility. In June 2012, the Finnish Minister of Education signed a decree to

462

reform basic education to include educational objectives, lesson-hour distribution, a National

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Core Curriculum, and local curricula to be completed by the beginning of school year 2016

464

(Basic Education Decree 422, 2012). As a starting point, the decree allocated more time and

465

funding for PE, arts, craft education, and civic/citizenship education (Basic Education Decree

466

422, 2012). The preparation of the curricula is interactive. All education providers can follow the

467

preparation and give feedback at the different phases. They are also encouraged to involve

468

students and their parents in the process (Basic Education Decree 422, 2012). Based on this

469

Basic Education Decree, schools should aim to increase students’ support and cooperation with

470

homes and to increase student autonomy to enhance motivation and individual growth to meet

471

the new objectives (Basic Education Decree 422, 2012). In addition, teaching and learning

472

should facilitate students’ health and well-being.

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From a PE teacher’s point of view, these changes are promising, although inadequate.

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The new Basic Education Decree 422 increases PE time by adding an annual weekly lesson for

475

two years during grades 1-9. It is yet to be confirmed how this one additional PE lesson per

476

week for elementary and middle school levels will be used, but the rationale for the increase is to

477

improve the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Therefore, it is likely that

478

increased resources will be used for health-enhancing PE.

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In addition, together with the new National Core Curriculum, schools and physical

480

educators are required to implement a new criterion-referenced MOVE!® assessment and

481

feedback program to evaluate students’ fitness levels and to motivate students to participate in

482

health-enhancing PA. This program will be integrated in Finnish 5th- and 8th-grade curricula, as

483

well as in yearly school health monitoring; it also generates fitness assessment data to inform

484

students, parents, and health administrators alike. The fitness tests of MOVE! ® bear similarities

485

with FITNESSGRAM® tests evaluating students’ aerobic capacity, body composition, and


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486

muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility. This assessment and feedback program will be

487

implemented across the Finnish comprehensive school system and it is attainable for more than

488

96% of a Finnish student cohort. It is yet to be seen or tested if this new system will enhance the

489

health, PA, and motivation of youth, and whether it will facilitate communicating fitness testing

490

results to students, parents, and health administrators. This new program can be seen as an

491

indicator that the role of schooling system is not only to educate the mind of a student, but also to

492

provide tools and motivation to engage health-enhancing PA.

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Over the past decades, physical educators have witnessed marginalization of PE across the Western world (Hardman & Marshall, 2009; Pühse, & Gerber, 2005). Considering the

495

challenges and outright threats to school PE in many countries, the changes pertaining to the

496

Finnish national curriculum are promising. Although negative prophecies of the future of PE

497

have been presented (Kirk, 2010), the future of Finnish school PE is viewed by the author in a

498

more positive light. Based on recent developments, it can be argued that PE has a solid

499

foundation in Finnish schools enjoying considerable support in Finnish society. This is not

500

because educational policies in Finland are more PE-friendly than U.S. policies, for instance, but

501

because since the 1970s one of the most central purposes of schooling has been the holistic

502

development of a student (Aho, Pitkänen, & Sahlberg, 2006). Thus, school PE is not important

503

because it is just a tool to “let off steam,” but because it is an important piece in an academic

504

education system that helps the nation to achieve the objectives of the 21st century.

505

Future Research

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School PE has an important educational mission to educate the whole individual. This

507

literature review, however, shows limited evidence of the effectiveness of the Finnish PE

508

programs in relation to examined outcomes. Although a respectable amount of evidence in PA


Page 23 of 35

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participation and fitness levels of Finnish youth has been reported, the findings of this review

510

indicates that the effects of PE on health and fitness outcomes are not well understood (e.g., Pate,

511

O'Neill, & McIver, 2011). In fact, based on this review, it is argues that no credible evidence

512

directly linking school PE (policies, curricula, teaching styles, or strategies) and cognitive,

513

social, and psychomotor student outcomes is currently available. Thus, there is a clear need for

514

scholars to conduct robust research to better examine the effectiveness of school PE. Studies

515

should assess teaching practices and curricula to identify disparities in PE quality and quantity,

516

and document favorable and unfavorable trends. In addition, studies that employ a strong

517

theoretical framework and a rigorous research design would be beneficial to address these issues.

518

Research in this area should seek four goals.

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Goal 1. It is logical to assume that allocating more time to PE across all grade levels

er

helps students to reach the daily PA recommendations. Daily PE in elementary and middle

521

schools is needed for fitness-enhancing benefits for all students, including those who are the

522

most inactive. However, financial resources for education and PE are limited; therefore, studies

523

to determine the most beneficial, health-enhancing, weekly dose of PE is needed. This

524

suggestion is by no means new or novel, or only pertinent to Finnish PE. Previously, several

525

distinguished U.S. scholars recommended that school PE should focus on enhancing population

526

health (e.g., Sallis et al., 2012). It is likely, that the current efforts to allocate more time for PE

527

should be more readily appreciated by the different stakeholders when supported by rigorous

528

scientific evidence. Thus, strengthening research on this topic will be productive in terms of

529

promoting and supporting PE-friendly school policies in Finland.

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Goal 2. The findings of this review indicate that Finnish students are highly motivated toward PE. What we do not know is how PE curriculum relates to this motivation and to


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Page 24 of 35

532

participation of adolescents in out-of-school PA. It would be worthwhile to explore whether

533

different types of curricula (e.g., a multi-activity or a concept-based curriculum) contribute

534

differently to changing the motivation of adolescents toward PE and PA participation (Ennis,

535

2011). Sound theoretical models should be utilized when examining these effects. For instance,

536

Chen and Hancock (2006) have proposed a theoretical model for PE researchers to study the

537

dynamic impact of personal, PE curriculum, and community variables on adolescent PA.

538

Goal 3. Internationally, previous PE intervention studies have shown desirable short term

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benefits in regard to in-class PA of adolescents (for a review, see Dudley, Okely, Pearson, &

540

Cotton, 2011). But previous interventions have shown little effect on sustaining a physically

541

active lifestyle in later years (Kahn, Ramsey, & Brownson, 2002; McKenzie et al., 2003). Thus,

542

future studies should be conducted to determine the most beneficial teaching practices in PE to

543

initiate the most positive responses in learners and increase their willingness to be active during

544

out-of-school time. One possible theoretical framework to examine the role of teacher instruction

545

in student PA participation could be the Trans-Contextual Model (TCM; Hagger et al., 2003).

546

Research based on TCM has shown autonomy-supportive instruction in PE to predict student

547

autonomy not only in PE, but also in an out-of-school context and actual participation in PA (for

548

a review, see Hagger & Chatizarantis, 2012).

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Goal 4. Finally, future studies should determine how existing and emerging technology

550

could assist students to reach learning objectives. Current advances in health-technology, such as

551

motion sensors and smartphone applications could help PE teachers not only to engage students

552

in health-enhancing PA, but also and perhaps more importantly, educate and motivate students

553

toward life-long PA. For instance, wireless and real-life data transmission technologies allow

554

students to monitor their PA levels, track working-out at target heart rate, or evaluate burned


Page 25 of 35

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555

calories during different activities. This technology could help teachers to provide immediate and

556

accurate feedback on areas such as energy expenditure and intensity during PE classes. In

557

addition, technology not only provides better possibilities to assess student performance in a

558

more efficient manner, but also provides information to students and parents alike. These

559

emerging technologies are also valuable tools in regards of future research endeavors.

560 561

Note 1

The literature search was conducted using Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, ERIC, Scholar One, and ARTO to identify observational and intervention studies in the area of physical education. Additional studies were identified using the reference lists of research and review papers. The search was restricted to peer-reviewed and data-driven articles and PhD level study reports.

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568 569

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Aho, E., Pitkänen, K., & Sahlberg, P. (2006). Policy development and reform principles of basic

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10.1080/17408980802353354

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Bailey, R., Armour, K., Kirk, D., Jess, M., Pickup, I., & Sandford, R. (2009). The educational benefits claimed for physical education and school sport: An academic review. Research

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Berg, P., & Lahelma, E. (2010). Gendering processes in the field of physical education. Gender and Education, 22, 31–46. doi: 10.1080/09540250902748184

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Pühse & M. Gerber (Eds.), International comparison of physical education—Concepts,

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problems, prospects (pp. 250–271). Aachen, Germany: Mayer & Meyer.

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Heikinaro-Johansson, P., Varstala, V., & Lyyra M. (2008). Yläkoululaisten kiinnostus

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Huisman, T. (2004). Liikunnan arviointi peruskoulussa 2003. Yhdeksäsluokkalaisten kunto, liikunta-aktiivisuus ja koululiikuntaan asennoituminen. [An evaluation of physical

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Huotari, P., Nupponen, H., Laakso, L., & Kujala, U. (2010a). Secular trends in aerobic fitness

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Huotari, P., Nupponen, H., Laakso, L., & Kujala, U. (2010b). Secular trends in muscular fitness

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Ilmanen, K. (1982). Voimistelunopettajakoulutuksen kuusi ensimmäistä vuosikymmentä. Vuodet

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Jaakkola, T. (2002). Changes in students’ exercise motivation, goal orientation, and sport

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Table 1. Cross-national Reports of Finnish and the U.S. Adolescents Engagement in Daily Moderate-toVigorous Physical Activity

Age Group 11-year-olds 13-year-olds 15-year-olds

Finnish Students Girls (%) Boys (%) 37 48 15 24 9 15

The U.S. Students Girls (%) Boys (%) 26 33 21 35 14 34

HBSC Average Girls (%) Boys (%) 22 30 15 25 12 20

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Note 1. Based on the 2006 Health Behavior in School-aged Children Study. Note 2. Adolescents responded on a one-item and an eight-point response scale (0–7 days of the week) question: “Over the past 7 days, on how many days were you physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes per day?”

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